


Petals and Knots

by flecksofpoppy



Series: Poppy's Adventures in Night Ficcing [9]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Ficlet, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Missing Scene, Subtext, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:32:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5174693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flecksofpoppy/pseuds/flecksofpoppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What soldier wants to know how to make a daisy chain?”</p><p>(Send me a ship and I'll write a ficlet tumblr meme: "Jeanmarco, things you don't like about yourself that I do")</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petals and Knots

“It’s a totally pointless skill.”

Marco just looks up, smiling, and then shrugs.

Jean scowls.

“You’re the one that asked to see how to make a daisy chain,” he grumbles, throwing the one he just haphazardly assembled onto the spring grass. Marco immediately looks alarmed and reaches over to retrieve the discarded daisy chain.

“I wasn’t mocking you,” he says with wide eyes. Jean collapses lazily on the ground nearby, leaning back on his elbows to stare up into the cloudless blue sky. “I was serious,” he insists.

“What soldier wants to know how to make a daisy chain?” Jean demands, sounding defensive.

It’d all started when Marco had seen Mikasa make a daisy chain out of the wild flowers that grew behind the barracks when she thought no one was watching. It was after another thankless afternoon of hand-to-hand combat, and Marco was curious; so he’d asked Jean if he knew anything about them.

Of course, he hadn’t mentioned Mikasa, which generally either made Jean puff out his chest and blurt out a ridiculous piece of information that may or may not have been factual, or just blush until he could barely speak except to bite out a curse and turn on his heel.

Jean is really annoying, abrasive, and cocky; and a really good friend. Marco finds it all fascinating.

That, and he can make daisy chains.

“So, did you learn how to do that to impress all the girls in Trost?” Marco asks, still looking at the daisy chain curiously.

He reclines completely, one hand behind his head and the other holding the finely made chain of tied stems up against the sky to examine. Unsurprisingly, even though Jean wove it together quickly, it’s impeccably even and well assembled.

It’s obvious that he has a lot of potential and natural grace, and Marco knows there’s a reason why Shadis always cuts his line first during ODM training when there’s an unexpected “test.” (They all call it “the mortality test,” since cadets have actually died.)

A bastard move, to be sure, but Jean always survives.

“Nah,” Jean finally replies under his breath, looking embarrassed. Marco waits patiently, but then finally nudges Jean’s thigh to get a response when there’s only silence.

“C’mon,” he prompts, “where’d you learn how to make them?”

“My mom made me,” Jean finally mumbles, sounding infinitely childish, “as a kid.”

“Made you?” Marco prompts, snorting and pushing his shin against Jean’s thigh again.

Jean makes an indignant sound and rolls his eyes balefully in Marco’s direction. “You’re a weirdo, asking all these questions,” he finally says defensively, crossing his arms.

Marco snorts again, but Jean doesn’t get up.

They sit there in surprisingly comfortable silence, watching the sky turn from spring blue to purple twilight, and Marco yawns.

“It’s a useful skill to have,” he suddenly remarks as he sits up, brushing off his shirt and startling the pleasantly sleepy silence. “Teaches you to be careful with how you put things together.”

Jean looks thoughtful at that—most likely because Marco just implied he’s good at something—but it’s obvious he’s thinking about it harder than that after a few seconds pass.

“I guess so,” he finally replies, climbing to his feet and then extending his hand to help Marco up. He grins sharply, raising a teasing eyebrow at Marco. “You like flowers then, Bodt?”

“Yeah,” Marco retorts immediately with a grin, accepting Jean’s hand and pulling himself up. “I actually know a lot about them.” He brushes off his pants and starts down the hill toward the barracks. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late for roll call.”

“Like I said,” Jean says arrogantly, making a dismissive face as he starts to follow Marco, “it’s a pointless skill.”

“Not really,” Marco replies smoothly, turning to shoot a glance over his shoulder at Jean, “it also teaches you to appreciate fragile things.”

Jean doesn’t reply, but as the brush crunches under their boots, he just hums softly after a moment.

He doesn’t know the daisy chain is tucked into Marco’s pocket.


End file.
